It was late at night.
The moon shone bright, and the stars were sparse.
The Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley stood alone on the jade steps outside the Hundred Flowers Palace, her hands behind her back.
She gazed toward the mountain behind the palace, uncertainty flickering in her eyes.
There, her master, the previous Valley Master of Hundred Flowers Valley, the Divine Mansion Realm Great Expert known as the Night-Blooming Cereus Fairy, had entered seclusion, vowing not to emerge until she broke through to mid-stage Divine Mansion.
"Master, can your disciple protect this legacy?"
She murmured to herself, a barely perceptible trace of weariness and confusion in her voice.
Though she had only recently succeeded as Valley Master, she had governed Hundred Flowers Valley, a Divine Mansion Realm immortal sect, as its deputy Valley Master for over two hundred years.
Over those two hundred years, she had enforced the rule of "women above, men below" with ever-increasing severity across every inch of Jade Prefecture, suppressing every male powerhouse who might threaten Hundred Flowers Valley's rule and fortifying this "kingdom of women" with its millennia-old heritage.
She had never doubted that this path was right.
In her eyes, only this could keep Hundred Flowers Valley standing forever and prevent women from becoming mere appendages.
But now, the Marquis of Chu's army was bearing down on them, and rebellions were breaking out throughout Jade Prefecture...
Had she taken the wrong path?
The thought had barely surfaced before she ruthlessly snuffed it out.
No, I was not wrong!
Those men were born rebels, and Li Xinge, the Marquis of Chu, harbored a wolf's ambition!
Her gaze turned sharp and cold once more.
She turned and walked into the palace.
But suddenly, she stopped.
She snapped her head up and looked toward the